1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to adjustment methods, substrate processing methods, substrate processing apparatuses, exposure apparatuses, inspection apparatuses, measurement and/or inspection systems, processing apparatuses, computer systems, programs and information recording media, and more particularly, an adjustment method in which processing conditions of a series of a plurality of substrate processings that include a measurement and/or inspection processing are adjusted, a substrate processing method in which a plurality of substrate processings that include an exposure processing of forming a pattern on a substrate and an inspection processing of inspecting a substrate are performed, a substrate processing apparatus that uses the adjustment method or the substrate processing method, an exposure apparatus and an inspection apparatus, a measurement and/or inspection system that implements at least one of a measurement processing and an inspection processing to a substrate that is subject to an exposure processing, a processing apparatus that executes a specific processing to a substrate that is subject to a liquid immersion exposure processing, a computer system that controls a processing process of the specific processing, a program that makes a computer execute a plurality of substrate processings that include an exposure processing of forming a pattern on a substrate and an inspection processing of inspecting a substrate, and a computer-readable information recording medium in which the program is recorded.
2. Description of the Background Art
A semiconductor device, a liquid crystal display device, an imaging device such as CCD (Charge Coupled Device), or a microdevice (electron device) such as a thin film magnetic head is manufactured by repeating a series of a plurality of substrate processings such as a film formation/resist coating processing, an exposure processing, a postbake (PEB) processing, a development processing and an etching processing to a substrate such as a wafer. In the series of substrate processings, when the individual substrate processing ends, a measurement and/or inspection processing to a substrate is performed and whether a state of the substrate is favorable or not is checked, for the purpose of improving the yield. A measurement and/or inspection processing of a film on a substrate after the film formation/resist coating processing, a defect inspection of a pattern formed on a substrate after the development processing or the etching processing, and the like are the examples. Measurement and/or inspection results of such a measurement and/or inspection processing are used for adjustment of various processing apparatuses that performs a substrate processing, such as a film forming apparatus, a coater/developer (C/D), an exposure apparatus, and an etching apparatus, in addition to judgment of quality of the substrate.
Adjustment of device manufacturing apparatuses based on a single measurement and/or inspection result has been conventionally preformed by, for example, adjusting the film forming apparatus or the coater in the case abnormality of a film is recognized in the measurement and/or inspection processing of the film on a substrate after the film formation/resist coating processing, or adjusting the exposure apparatus in the case abnormality is recognized in a pattern on a substrate after the exposure processing.
Recently, since the processing contents of a series of a plurality of substrate processings have been further complicated due to, for example, multilayered films formed on a substrate to cope with a finer device pattern, it is gradually becoming difficult to efficiently remove the cause of the abnormality based on a single measurement and/or inspection result.
Meanwhile, in the recent exposure apparatuses, the higher resolution has been required to cope with a finer device pattern, and an exposure apparatus that uses liquid immersion exposure techniques (liquid immersion exposure apparatus) that realizes the higher resolution and the wider depth of focus has begun to be introduced. By the introduction of the liquid immersion exposure, transfer of a finer device pattern can be performed than before. At present, in order to efficiently operate the liquid immersion exposure apparatus and the conventional exposure apparatus (dry exposure apparatus), the liquid immersion exposure apparatus is used for exposure of a layer that requires critical pattern transfer accuracy, for example, exposure in a contact hole process or a gate formation process (isolated line), and the conventional exposure apparatus is used for exposure of a layer that requires a relatively relaxed pattern transfer accuracy.
In general, the required accuracy becomes higher for a pattern that is formed on a substrate by liquid immersion exposure. Further, since liquid that remains on a substrate (remaining liquid) affects the processings such as the postbake, the development and the etching after exposure, it is necessary to remove the liquid completely and confirm that there is no remaining liquid. In this manner, an inspection such as an inspection of the remaining liquid that is different from a measurement and/or inspection for a substrate to which exposure is performed in the conventional exposure apparatus is preferably performed to a substrate to which liquid immersion exposure is performed. Under the present situation, however, the measurement and/or inspection processings under the similar measurement and/or inspection conditions are constantly performed to both of a substrate to which dry exposure is performed and a substrate to which liquid immersion exposure is performed because of the stand-alone configuration of a measurement and/or inspection instrument or the like.